What Make a Portrait

  I am often asked what the difference is between a photograph and a portrait. You look at a portrait with your eyes. However you sense the essence of the person or the relationship between the people with your heart.  So you can say there is an unseen energy that is captured by the photographer and received by the viewer.  The energy is comprised of the elements in the portrait. It's part composition, tone and color, light and shadow, balance and expression. The artist uses their innate ability to combine these elements to make a photograph into a work of art. A picture shows what somebody looks like. A portrait shows what somebody is like.  The difference then is like day is different then night.